1. Field of the Invention
An object of the present invention is a connector with automatic insertion and ejection. It is designed more particularly for electrical and optical applications, but can be used in other fields. The aim of the invention is to facilitate operations of connection and disconnection and to make connectors more reliable while at the same time enabling their miniaturization.
A connector has two bodies, generally a female body and a male body, which can be connected to each other by mechanical means. Within these female and male bodies, there are inserts. The linking of the inserts, which is sheltered, inside the connection of the female and male bodies, provides for the continuity of the function envisaged, namely electrical connection, optical transmission or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For the female and male bodies, a known type of fixed joining is a bayonet type joining and also a screw type joining. However, this type of fixed joining is impractical when the narrowness of the access does not allow the operator to work with his fingers. It is not always possible for the operator to rotate one of these bodies in relation to the other by means of his hands. This is especially the case when the connectors are present in banks, close to one another or even beside one another and above one another. When there are banks of connectors such as this, it is usually necessary to uncouple several of them so as to be able to reach one of them in particular.
There are also prior art automatic insertion connectors known as &lt;&lt;push-pull&gt;&gt;type connectors. In these connectors, an external ring can slide along one of the bodies, the male or female body and in sliding, it can release a bolt that holds the two bodies together. The maneuver is simple during coupling. However, during uncoupling, the fact that numerous connectors are very close to one another does not make it any easier than in the previous case for the operator to work with his hands. Indeed, in this type of connector, however much the coupling may be automatic (the sliding ring escapes and then gets repositioned in an elastic manner), the fact remains that the uncoupling requires two simultaneous actions, one action on the ring and one action on one of the two bodies in order to move one of them away from the other body.
There also exist hinge type joining systems in which the bodies, which are not necessarily male and female, are associated or dissociated by a relative rotation of their alignment. The two bodies are aligned with each other for the connection, and the alignment is broken for the uncoupling. This type of connector too requires a great deal of space for handling.
It is an object of the invention to remedy these drawbacks by proposing a completely different shape for the male and female bodies. According to the invention, it is provided that a latch for joining the male body to the female body is made in the form of a window through which the male body passes. The window is held in the female body. At the time of its insertion, the male body furthermore releases the window in a transversal motion, and the window gets embedded into a relief of the male body so as to block it inside the female body. As a result of this fact, the coupling is very simple, it is automatic. According to an essential characteristic of the invention, the mechanism of the motion of the window is such that the window cannot be shifted if the male body is not inserted into the female body. This makes it possible to prevent a situation wherein, through unwanted handling actions, the window is placed in the path of the male body and, when this male body is inserted, gets broken and makes the connector unusable for its fixed joining function. Hence, the connector made is mechanically reliable and it can therefore be easily miniaturized without any fear of its being insufficiently solid.
An object of the invention therefore is a connector comprising a female body and a male body that can be fitted together longitudinally and, inside these bodies, inserts that are connectable to each other so that, when the bodies are fitted together, these inserts provide for a link between circuits connected to these inserts, wherein:
the female body possesses a circular window that is transversely mobile in the fitting-in direction of the male body, and a ring that can be shifted within the female body axially in this fitting-in direction and is capable of getting inserted into this window, PA1 the male body comprising a bore to get threaded into the ring, a stop to push back the ring and a relief to receive an edge of the window.